This recipe creates a bright and delicious lemon sheet cake, perfect for potlucks, bake sales, or a sweet summer treat.
Ingredients
- Cake:
- 1 ¼ cups (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 2 ¾ cups cake flour (all-purpose flour can be substituted)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk (or sour cream thinned with milk)
- Glaze (Optional):
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- Fresh lemon slices for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a rimmed baking sheet.
- In a large bowl, cream together softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in lemon zest and juice.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, alternating with buttermilk (or sour cream mixture) until just combined.
- Pour batter into prepared baking sheet and spread evenly.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- While the cake cools, prepare the glaze (optional) by whisking together powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle glaze over the cooled cake.
- Garnish with fresh lemon slices (optional) and enjoy!
Tips:
- For a richer flavor, use brown sugar in place of half of the granulated sugar.
- If you don’t have buttermilk, sour cream thinned with milk can be substituted.
- Make sure your buttermilk or sour cream mixture is at room temperature before adding it to the batter.
- To add a streusel topping, combine ½ cup flour, ¼ cup brown sugar, and ¼ cup softened butter with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over the batter before baking.
